Purepro L4651 filter cut open

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This filter is from my brother in laws 2004 F150 with the 5.4. It has 156,000 miles on it total.
I have no idea what oil was in it nor exact mileage on filter. It was 2000 miles/7 months past what the window sticker had on it from Meineke, not sure if they still do a 3k or 5k OCI.

Here is the filter, date code and base (o-ring stuck to the block, have not had that happen in years, glad I check every time):


Looks like an e-core to me:


decent pleat spacing and no separation at the seam (had a hard time finding it actually):


And all the parts of the filter. I was really suprised how easily the fiber endcaps pulled off:


Nitrle ADV still pliable (but was a little stiff). Is this one of those combo ADV/bypass valves? I see the extra holes in the baseplate. :


And now a question, in between a few of the pleats I found this stuff.


Here it is on a white paper towel. At first I thought the metal flakes in the filter were from me cutting it open with a dremel, but some of this was deep in the pleat and I don't think it is from opening the can.



I put some Castrol GTX syn blend 5w-20 and a Wix made Carquest Red filter on it. No idea if I will be changing it again or not. I would like to get my hands on the filter though and see what it looks like (but really need to get a filter cutter tool to avoid metal flakes, but hard to justify the ~$50 for one).
 
Made February 2015 and looks like it did catch some [censored], which is good
smile.gif


Thank you for cut&post
 
Looks like the filter caught a lot of carbon deposits due to ring blow-by.
 
Just a little back story, the truck has apparently been running like poo for some time. My BIL got really sick late last year and it has sat since then with only occasional short trip driving, but he said it was running poorly for almost a year before that time. He said the truck had problems getting up to speed, was rattling under acceleration, bogging down, misfiring, surging etc. Had a P0174 and P0172 code (lean on one side, rich on the other) and one other (don't remember what it was). He drove it like that for I don't know how many thousands of miles. Only maintenance he has done since he bought it new in '04 is oil/filter changes at quick change places and changed the air filter 2-3 times. Battery has been dead for over a month so I decided to take care of it; he is finally getting better and is needing to drive soon.

The plugs needed to be changed (luckily I got all 8 out without breaking) and he had hard misfires on cyl 1, 3, and 5, so I replaced the COP. I cleaned the throttle body and changed the fuel filter, but still was sluggish and no power. Turned out both the cats were plugged (both the uppers were completely gone, probably what the rattling was he heard, both lowers were barely flowing). I just had the cats taken care of this week (man those were costly) and now it is running great. I am sure all of this is why there is all this stuff in the filter.
While I had it I also changed the transmission filter and 5 qts of ATF, changed PS fluid, changed the rear diff fluid, changed the front brakes, replaced O2 sensors, did the oil change, as well as several other little things. Still needs a drivers side lower ball joint and has a little rattle/squeal from the serpentine belt (idler pulley or tensioner?) that I need to take care of soon. It is also starting to have the dreaded phaser rattle. I may change the VCT solenoids first to see if that helps any.

Here is a pic of the new plug next to the best looking old one, yeah, it is a little worn...:
 
It's an E core which is GM's favorite type of filter ... They claim one reason they make them this way is for better flow.. I will tell you these e cores are looking better and better to me these days compared to what out there..I mean there are millions of these filters in use everyday so how bad can they be if Gm uses them.
 
Originally Posted By: crazyoildude
It's an E core which is GM's favorite type of filter ... They claim one reason they make them this way is for better flow.. I will tell you these e cores are looking better and better to me these days compared to what out there..I mean there are millions of these filters in use everyday so how bad can they be if Gm uses them.
As bad as the Vega.
 
It sounds like you're a great brother in law, thanks for all the pictures
smile.gif
Glad to see the truck getting back in shape after 12 years.
 
Originally Posted By: HerrStig
Quote:
..... so how bad can they be if Gm uses them.
As bad as the Vega.

lol.gif

As for the ecore being "GM's favorite", here's what GM thinks as documented according to a recent TSB posted HERE and on many GM vehicle forums too. "If you are working on a Gen4 V8 that is setting a DTC P0521 and or low oil pressure indicated on the instrument panel in cold or hot weather and the engine is currently equipped with a PF48E oil filter, replace with a UPF48R oil filter if one is available." Note the PF48E is an ecore (poppet bypass design), the UPF48R is classic metal endcap design. So much for the ecore GM favorite 'hearsay.'

In my observation most astute GM filter buyers still prefer and use the classic ACDelco metal endcap/centertube designs including the PF63 "Professional" and the tsb recommended UPF48R Specialty Ultraguard.

This ecore uses a combo valve as can be seen by the second series of interior/central holes in the baseplate, and being for a Ford application. Looks like the media held up fine and uniform, better design than older ecores. My concern might be the proper functioning of the bypass portion of the nitrile combo valve over the complete oci. As noted, looks like it caught a bunch junk. Very nice of you to help out your BIL and pull maintenance.

Thanks for the c&p.
 
Originally Posted By: Sayjac
...

This ecore uses a combo valve as can be seen by the second series of interior/central holes in the baseplate, and being for a Ford application. Looks like the media held up fine and uniform, better design than older ecores. My concern might be the proper functioning of the bypass portion of the nitrile combo valve over the complete oci. As noted, looks like it caught a bunch junk. Very nice of you to help out your BIL and pull maintenance.

Thanks for the c&p.

Yeah, I was kind of wondering if it was kicking into bypass. Also was wondering what the combo valve looked like. I had seen pics of it but could not quite grasp how it worked. Now that I have pulled it apart, I see how it works, and also see why it is not the best design.

Maybe in 2000 miles or so I can swap out the filter when he comes over and see how the Wix made CarQuest Red is filtering (and maybe buy myself a real filter cutter to not get all those metal shavings in the filter) and throw on one of the new Wix made Supertech filters for the rest of the OCI.
 
Originally Posted By: dccode
It sounds like you're a great brother in law, thanks for all the pictures
smile.gif
Glad to see the truck getting back in shape after 12 years.


+1 .... Thank you for the great cut and post blupupher ... Your post is detailed and descriptive ... very well done and greatly appreciated.
 
No Expedition in this post, just an F150.

I used Maxlife ATF in it though. I have had no issues with Maxlife in Merc V transmissions.
For the filter, I used a Motorcraft filter. It was the same price as other quality filters, so I just went with that.
I noticed no difference in his truck after changing the fluid/filter, but was not really noticing any issues to start off with. Ideally I would change it 2-3 more times, but probably will not (and don't want to without a drain plug, way too messy). I at least got some fresh fluid out of there and a new filter in.
 
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